Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Wild Child Limerick and Birthday Party Food

My newly eight year old son, has been hearing some of the Just So stories at school including the one about how the elephant got its trunk. The elephant's child being overly curious and its then moderate snout being stretched and stretched by a crocodile. This combined with a spate of birthday parties brought on this limerick:

The elephant's favourite child
was normally so meek and mild,
but a trunkful of sweets
and E-number filled treats
and boy you should have seen him go wild.

My son's birthday party was relatively E-number and sweet free, except for the chocolate coin treasure and the birthday cake covered in Smarties, which I reckon are essential...and, now I remember it, my Supermum halo slipped a bit and I supplied marshmallows (which are nothing but sugar and E-numbers!) to toast over the camp fire but it was a cowboy and indian party and what else can eight year olds do with a camp fire!

Otherwise they devoured large amounts of marmite sandwiches and honey sandwiches, ready salted chips, sausages and even the carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and grapes, all with equal gusto. I probably could have thrown in some even more nutritious food - eight year olds seem to have a permanent hunger upon them, especially after chasing around finding the clues for the treasure hunt.

So it is possible to do healthy food for a child's birthday party without being lynched by a mob of sugar deprived monsters, in fact I think you're more likely to be held up at gunpoint by mini bandits demanding party packs, if they have been on a sugar binge!

2 comments:

  1. What is a marmite sandwich? Never heard of that one...

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  2. I don't know if you have marmite over there, I know Australia has vegemite. It's a yeast extract spread, savoury and salty. English kids arebrought up on it but I think it's an acquired taste for those that weren't!

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